A magistrate has been delayed in setting a trial date for gang charges against 11 men arising out of the murder of Senior Counsel Dana Seetahal.
Magistrate Kerianne Byer was expected to set the date during a virtual hearing of the case yesterday but was forced to defer the process due to a multitude of issues in the case.
During the hearing, Byer noted that four of the men had refused to accept summons for them to officially appear before her to answer the charges.
She also stated that several of the accused were not represented by attorneys.
Four of the accused men, who are currently on remand for Seetahal’s murder, also refused to leave their cells to attend the hearing from a virtual conferencing centre at the prison.
“This is as far as we can proceed,” Byer said, as she advised Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Tricia Hudlin-Cooper that police investigators would have to attempt to serve the men who had refused service of the summons.
She also advised the accused men present, who were without legal representation, that they could either hire an attorney or seek representation through the Public Defenders’ Department.
Before adjourning the case to October 27, Byer advised the accused men that they could consider entering into plea agreements with the DPP’s Office or seek maximum sentence indications (MSIs) to save judicial time and receive reduced sentences.
“I am not encouraging anyone. I have been asked to remind everyone of their options,” Byer said, as she advised the men to consult with their attorneys on the issue.
Seetahal was shot dead behind the wheel of her SUV while driving along Hamilton Holder Street in Woodbrook on May 4, 2014.
On July 25, 2015, Rajaee Ali, his brothers Ishmael and Hamid; Devaughn Cummings, Ricardo Stewart, Earl Richards, Stephan Cummings, Kevin Parkinson, Leston Gonzales; Roget Boucher, and Gareth Wiseman were charged with the crime.
Deon Peters and David Ector were charged under the Anti-Gang Act for being members of a gang, while Ali’s wife Stacy Griffith was charged with assisting the gang.
The gang charges were initially dismissed based on the fact that they were laid indictably (heard and determined by a High Court Judge and jury), as opposed to summarily (heard and determined by a magistrate), as required for first-time offenders under the legislation.
The issue resulted in Peters and Ector being freed. The charge against Griffith was also eventually discontinued by the DPP’s Office.
The Court of Appeal eventually reinstated the charges for being members of a gang in 2020.
As Ector was murdered in July 2018 and Peters is yet to be served with his summons to appear in court on the reinstated charges.
Stephan Cummings was initially charged with the murder but in December 2017, he was made a State witness after he agreed to testify against his former friends. The charge was discontinued against him and he was instead charged with conspiring to murder Seetahal.
In July 2020, the group was committed to stand trial for Seetahal’s murder. (DA)
